STOCK MARKET NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Tempted To Buy Newell Brands Inc (NYSE: NWL) Because Of Its Sales Multiple?

Newell Brands Inc (NYSE: NWL), a consumer discretionary company with a market capitalization of $12.3 billion, currently trades at a Sales Multiple of 1.6x which is above the sector’s median multiple of 1.2x. Although this makes NWL look unattractive, investors may change their mind after reviewing the assumptions behind the EV / Sales ratio. In the post below, I calculate Newell’s fair value using a Sales Multiples valuation.

How To Interpret Newell’s Sales Multiple

A multiples valuation, also known as a comparable companies analysis, determines the value of a subject company by benchmarking the subject’s financial performance against companies deemed to be similar. We can then determine if a company is undervalued or overvalued relative to its peers by comparing metrics like growth, profit margin, and valuation multiples.

EV / Sales, also known as Enterprise Value-to-Sales Multiple or a Sales Multiple, measures the dollars in Enterprise Value for each dollar of revenue. Its key benefit over the P/E multiple is that it’s capital structure-neutral, and, therefore, better at comparing companies with different levels of debt. The general formula behind a Sales Multiples valuation model is the following:

Enterprise Value = Revenue x Selected Multiple

The EV / Sales ratio by itself is not very helpful at all. It is only useful when comparing it to other companies that are considered similar to the subject company. The basic idea is that companies with similar characteristics should trade at similar multiples, all other things being equal. Therefore, we can come to a conclusion about the stock if the ratios are different. In the chart below, I compare Newell’s EV / Sales ratio to its peer group that includes Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL), Clorox Company (The) (NYSE: CLX) and Church & Dwight Company, Inc. (NYSE: CHD).

Since Newell’s EV / Sales ratio of 1.6x is lower than the median of its peers (3.7x), it means that investors are paying less than they should for each dollar of NWL’s revenue. As such, our analysis shows that NWL represents an undervalued stock. Furthermore, finbox.io’s EV / Sales Ratio Model calculates a fair value of $42.89 per share which implies 69.8% upside.

I selected a fair multiple of 2.2x in my analysis by averaging Newell’s current EV / Sales ratio with its peer group.

Sales Multiple Flaws

While this approach typically provides a reasonable valuation range, it is important to understand that our conclusion rests on some important assumptions. The first being that the selected peer group actually contains companies that truly are similar to Newell. The second important assumption is that the selected peer group stocks are being fairly valued by the market.

If the assumptions above do not hold to be true, then the difference in EV / Sales ratios could be due to a variety of factors. For example, if you accidentally compare Newell with higher growth companies, then its sales multiple would naturally be lower than its peers since investors reward high growth stocks with a higher price. Furthermore, sales multiples are highly correlated with EBITDA margins so differences in profit margin often explain differences in valuation.

Now if the second assumption does not hold true, Newell’s lower multiple may be because firms in our peer group are being overvalued by the market.

What To Do Next

As a current investor, you may have already conducted fundamental analysis on the company and its stock so its current undervaluation could signal a potential buying opportunity to increase your position in NWL. But keep in mind the EV / Sales ratio’s potential flaws when applying this valuation approach. It is important to note that there are a variety of other fundamental factors that I have not taken into consideration in this article. I highly recommend that you continue your research on Newell by taking a look at the following:

Valuation Metrics: how much upside do shares of Newell have based on the Ben Graham Formula? Take a look at our Ben Graham Formula data explorer which also compares the company’s upside to its peers.

Risk Metrics: what is Newell’s Altman Z score? It’s a famous formula used to predict the probability that a firm will go into bankruptcy within two years. View the company’s Altman Z score here.

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Expertise: financial technology, analyzing market trends.
Brian is a founder at finbox.io, where he’s focused on building tools that make it faster and easier for investors to research stock fundamentals. Brian’s background is in physics & computer science and previously worked as a software engineer at GE Healthcare. He enjoys applying his expertise in technology to help find market trends that impact investors.
Brian can be reached at brian@finbox.io or at +1 (516) 778-6257.

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